Fonterra embroiled in tainted milk scandal

China - China is caught up in a defective milk scandal that has left two babies dead and over 600 infected. Fonterra, joint partner of the offending Sanlu group in China, has been blamed for not going public despite knowing of the contamination for over a month.

According to Chinese officials carrying out ongoing probes, private milk-collecting stations were likely at fault, going against initial statements from the Sanlu group blaming suppliers for the defective milk.

The milk was found to contain melamine, used for making plastics and glues. The substance may have been added to make the milk appear like it contained more protein, Chinese media said.

To date, two babies have died and nearly 600 have fallen ill with kidney stones, up from 432 last week, local reports said. 

Dairy makers Fonterra farmers' co-operative owns a 43% stake in Sanlu, and have come under fire for keeping mum when the scandal broke.

New Zealand-based dairy product company Fonterra claims it has been pushing for a product recall since discovering the contaminated product last month, but have been blocked by local Chinese government officials.

"But given that babies were being fed this product every day, Fonterra should have gone public as soon as it knew of this serious contamination - regardless of what officials were saying," Green Party Health spokesperson Sue Kedgley said.

"Instead, Fonterra said nothing, during which time several more babies became sick. Fonterra should have bypassed local officials and demanded a recall at national level."

New Zealand later alerted the public on the sale of tainted milk, Prime Minister Helen Clark said, after Fonterra said it knew about the contamination for several weeks before a recall was initiated.

Fonterra has since ordered a recall of about 700 tonnes of powdered milk contaminated with melamine. The tainted milk has not been exported for consumption outside China.

"While I am pleased the New Zealand government alerted Chinese officials straight away, I'm disappointed that they chose not to go public," Kedgley said. "It is vital when confronted with a food scandal such as this to be absolutely open and honest with the public, so that Chinese authorities could not cover it up, and parents would have been warned much earlier."